Colin Cram

Chairman

About Me

Colin has a 30 year track record in creating and heading leading edge joint and collaborative public sector procurement organisations. In the early years of Margaret Thatcher’s premiership, he initiated the drive to improve UK public sector procurement and was involved in creating the first outsourcing policies.

A sought after speaker and writer, through his companies, Marc1 Ltd and Open Forum Events Ltd, he runs an international conference, training and consultancy business specialising in procurement, outsourcing and combating procurement fraud. His clients have included global private sector companies and UK and overseas public sector organisations. In January 2013, he proposed to the Public Administration Select Committee the creation of a Crown Commercial Service. On 24 July 2013, the UK government announced its creation. This had its genesis in his internationally acclaimed ‘Towards Tesco’ report, published by the Institute of Directors.

A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, he is an associate fellow at Manchester Business School (University of Manchester) and an executive fellow at the Academy of Procurement Professionals, Institute for Competition and Procurement Studies, Bangor University. He is also a member of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and is on the advisory board of the Association of SE Asia Chief Executives.